6,6-dimethyl-3-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-one is a compound useful as various chemical product raw materials, medical and agricultural chemical intermediates and the like (see, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 61-183239).
As the method of producing 6,6-dimethyl-3-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-one, a method by a transesterification reaction of ethyl 2-acetoxymethyl -3,3-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate and sodium ethylate (see, JP-A No. 56-87533) and the like are mentioned.
The method of JP-A No. 56-87533, however, has a problem that separation into the intended material 6,6-dimethyl-3-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-one and a by-product, a trans body of 3-hydroxymethyl-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate is not easy, thus, this method is industrially unsatisfactory.
Under such circumstances, the present inventors have investigated a method for industrially advantageously producing 6,6-dimethyl-3-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-one, to find that 6,6-dimethyl-3-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-one can be produced efficiently by hydrolyzing 3-acyloxymethyl-2,2-dimethyl-cyclopropanecarboxylate.